One-Dimensional Problems

The Knicks' Lack of Defense From Their Big Scorers May Have Doomed Them

By

Chris Herring

May 19, 2013 8:12 p.m. ET

After their season of unfulfilled promise came crashing down Saturday night, there was plenty of blame to go around for the Knicks.

ENLARGE

J.R. Smith and the Knicks' other scorers don't play much defense.
Associated Press

All-Star Tyson Chandler and sixth man J.R. Smith were flat-out dominated by their Indiana counterparts at times during the semifinal series. And it wasn't exactly coach Mike Woodson's finest hour, either. His faulty traditional lineups allowed Frank Vogel's top-notch defense to dig in even further during Game 4.

But if there's one key take-away from the Knicks' second-round exit—and what it means for their future—it's that the team desperately needs more two-way players.

The lack of players who can both score and play consistently solid defense cost the Knicks dearly in the 106-99 Game 6 loss Saturday. In particular, Smith, known for his lack of court awareness at times, had a total of five lapses—where he either lost track of his man on a back cut or failed to box out for a rebound—that directly resulted in Pacers' baskets.

During the telecast of the game, ESPN analyst Jon Barry made mention of the dilemma that Woodson faced because of the team's multitude of single-faceted players.

"That's the problem for Mike Woodson: Do we need [Chris] Copeland's offense? Yes, you certainly do," said Barry during the second quarter, when Copeland allowed a basket. "But now on the defensive end, [Copeland] cant handle David West in the post—you have to go double[-team], and that's been a sore spot for the Knicks when they have to do that."

Woodson's heavy reliance on scorers—understandable in a series where the stingy Pacers held the Knicks to an average of 89.5 points—helps explain why the New York's 18th-ranked defense was surprisingly poor this year despite Woodson's reputation on that side of the ball. And it highlights a departure from what he preached at the beginning of the year.

His message about accountability—that he'd make an example of anyone who didn't display focus at both ends—is badly undercut when he won't temporarily bench someone because he's afraid of what might become of the offense without a certain player's offensive contributions.

In a nutshell, the Knicks appear to have built their team around three or four players—Anthony, Chandler, Smith and Amar'e Stoudemire—who are especially talented at one end of the floor but handicapped on the other.

On the surface, that might not be overly problematic. Perhaps more so than ever before, specialization is key in today's NBA, especially as teams, including the Knicks, continue loading up on three-point shooters to space the floor and rim protectors to deny close-range looks.

But a glimpse at this year's conference finalists—the Spurs, Heat, Grizzlies and Pacers—illustrates that teams with flexible rosters and relatively balanced scoring stand a better chance of winning it all.

Memphis and Indiana, for instance, both have two stout wing defenders and enjoy evenly divided scoring outputs from their rotations. (The Pacers had five different leading scorers in the six-game series with New York.) Conversely, the Knicks relied heavily each night on Anthony and Smith, neither of whom is great defensively.

The Knicks' lack of two-way players raises questions about how much they can realistically expect to improve next year. The 2013 season will almost certainly feature a more competitive Eastern Conference. The young Pacers (just one player over the age of 27) and injury-plagued Bulls (former MVP Derrick Rose sat out the season to rehab a torn ACL but will be back next season) both have bright outlooks.

Meanwhile, it's unclear how much upside there is for the Knicks, who are the league's oldest team. Already over the salary cap, the Knicks have just one player—their best two-way player, swingman Iman Shumpert—under 27 years old.

Of course, the Knicks will do their best after this playoff exit to tweak their roster in an effort to improve. But based on how much one-sided talent they showed this past season, it will simply be interesting to see how they go about doing it.

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